"Sleeping Together": Pamelia Stickney & I met at a gig of hers at the public library in Pittsburgh in mid-May, 2017.  I had a deep appreciation for her skill as a theremin player & for her sense of humor & we became pretty good friends quickly.  I made a movie of a 2nd gig she did later that night & then of a recording session that she & I & Ben Opie did the next day ( https://youtu.be/ZpNhMIwc9Po ).  We started to make plans to tour together.  Life got in the way & the tour didn't happen but Pamelia was back in Pittsburgh again in January, 2018, & then in May 2018.  We planned a gig together for May 10.  In a message exchange, Pamelia proposed that "our improv theme could be - sonic nightcap, lullaby on a worknight" & I countered by saying that "It'll give a new meaning to "sleeping together"."  As is my typical practive, I gave a substantial amunt of thought to what I might do with the theme & developed a few things in preparation — even getting a pair of Darth Vader pajama pants to wear.  Pamelia started it by playing Brahms's "Lullaby" while I got ready for bed by changing into my PJs & switching on various nightlights.  I opened my "Total Mobile Home Suitcase" which activated a tape loop of booing & removed a pillowcase.  Closing the suitcase stopped the loop & I shook out the pillowcase before putting it on my pillow.  I activated an "Envirascape Rainforest Fountain" which produced a waterfall lit by chaning light & has the option of 6 different soundtracks including rainforest & loons.  The speaker to this was amplified with a contact mic that went into a 4 channel mixer & from there to a sampler mixer & then out to the sound system.  I also played my 5 music box instrument which had a version of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", a version of the same with major 7ths added to the lower notes, & 3 other music box melodies of my own composing.  This was also miked & fed into the sound system.  There was a miked metronome.  There was also a radio miked halusi with 2 drone pipes that could be sounded with both out & in breathing.  Finally there was a megaphone that I'd altered by putting arms & a football-with-a-face mask on it.  This latter was playing prerecorded heavy breathing sounds.  Both Pamelia & I gradually lay down & continued to manipulate our sound sources as we pretended to fall asleep.  Pamelia introduced it as "gentle but mental" & I thought that was a pretty good description.  I usually avoid drone-like audio production in favor of clashing disjunctive references but it was fun exploring this direction & using so many props & lightings.  Pamelia was her usual excellent musician self.  A good time was probably had by all.  - May 11, 2018 note from tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE  

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